Clean Marble Toothpaste Stain

by Eric
(La Jolla, CA)

QUESTION:

Hi! Can you please tell me if there is a way to remove a toothpaste stain from a marble counter top. The marble is mostly red in color and the stain is a white circle, with approximately a 1.5 inch diameter.

I tried removing the stain with a granite/natural stone cleaner and it did not remove the stain. Any recommendations would be appreciated. Thank you.

ANSWER:

The toothpaste did not "stain" your marble countertop. It "etched" it.

What's the difference?

A "stain" is caused by a substance being absorbed into the countertop creating a darker spot.

Etching is caused by acidic and/or alkaline substances reacting with calcium carbonate, which is what marble is composed of.

Toothpastes can range from acidic to neutral to alkaline, so some will damage marble while others won't. Thus, avoiding contact is the best policy.

What happens is that the toothpaste corrodes the marble surface destroying the polish leaving a dull spot that is lighter than the marble color.

Cleaning products won't help and sealing cannot prevent this. What you need to do is re-polish the area. To do that I recommend this ETCH REMOVER / Marble Polishing Paste.

Follow the directions and if the etch mark isn't too severe, then you should be able to restore the polish and color.

Good Luck,
Ryan